Easiest choices
by dreammaker-heartbreaker
Summary: It's been 4 years since the war. 3 of which Hermione has spent alone and yearning for someone. It's just not the someone everyone thought it would be. REVEIW! Need your help for the next chapter! Let me know! PLEASSE HELP!
1. Chapter 1

It had been 4 years since the war and the wizarding world had faced the worst. The communities were mostly recovered and safety was once again being restored, thanks once again to a certain Mr Potter. Since the battle Harry had settled into life with Ginny, now feeling ready to make his commitment and marry, the date had been set and arrangements for the big day to be a day in June next year. Ron however had been devastated from his breakup with Hermione and had sought refuge and company with none other than Luna Lovegood, they were coming up to their year anniversary and about to move in together. Hermione on the other hand, still feeling too raw from this breakup had remained single for the last year. There had been offers and interested parties, but she just didn't feel strong enough just yet. Instead her main priority was work. She had become the second most successful auror the ministry had seen in a long time, the most successful being Harry Potter.

It was nearing Hermione's 21st birthday and arrangements were being made; primarily by Ginny, to have a huge party.

"But Ginny I'd honestly rather just go out for dinner with the girls, I don't want the fuss" Hermione begged her everyday but the persistent redhead wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Please Hermione, it'll be fun and you never know, you may even pull!" she sniggered back, knowing full well that Hermione would never even consider doing something so publicly. "Come on, it'll be good for you. You need to stop moping around over Ron and get out there. I'm inviting everyone! Every single bachelor I can think of and I am making it my mission for you to be impressed with just one, not much to ask for is it Hermione?" She felt slightly offended that people thought of her moping over Ron and thought that she had handled herself perfectly well this last year, obviously not. She could feel her resolve melting and knowing not to argue with a female Weasley gave in and let Ginny organise the whole ordeal.

A week before the event the girls went shopping to find Hermione the perfect birthday dress. In the third store, having unloaded what seemed like 50 dresses on Hermione to try on, Ginny felt it best to talk to her about a specific guest. Sitting on the other side of the curtain Ginny gingerly brought up the subject of men.

"See you don't want anything too revealing, it's always good to keep them guessing, like Harry, he hates when I wear short skirts or anything like that. Of course I do it anyway, I mean who's he to tell me what to wear."

"Yeah, Ron never liked it either, unless it was for him I mean. I don't know about this one…" She opened the curtain and came out wearing a cream dress with a tutu style bottom to it. With a disgusted look from Ginny she rolled her eyes and commenced with operation dresshunt.

"So is there anyone you'd like there that you don't think I would have invited?"

"Um, I don't think so, as long as you, harry, Ron and Luna are there I don't care."

"Hermione please, you are not going to 'fifth wheel it' with all of us. Think now, any special person from work or school that you might like to see again?"

"Can't think of anyone."

"Oh for merlins sake Hermione, I've invited Malfoy. I just thought you might have liked the heads up!" At this revelation, the dressing room curtain swung open revealing Hermione in the most beautiful dress Ginny had ever seen, her angry expression however did not match the attire, the dress was floor length and pure black, strapless. The top part in the style of a bodice and the skirt just flowed down the ground.

"How could you?" Hermione's voice was barely a whisper, had Ginny not expected a reaction she wouldn't have known not to be bracing herself.

"I just thought maybe you'd like to see him. Hermione, that dress is beautiful." It was at this point that Hermione's eyes started to fill with tears, despite trying her hardest to keep them in, one or two trickled down her face.

"Well you were wrong." She dragged the curtain back across, changed out of the dress, threw it in Ginny's direction and stormed straight out of the store.

The big day had arrived and all day Hermione, who was supposed to be enduring hoards of beauty regimes had stayed curled up in an armchair, in the corner of her flat. She watched the time go by, feeling it was moving faster than usual. After about 3 hours of this she felt it was time to do something. But not yet feeling up to getting ready she went and retrieved and old book from an old box marked 'Hogwarts stuff'. In this box she kept old robes, tie, old textbooks and various pieces of parchment. Yet the book she pulled out was nothing at all to do with the school, it was her old diary, one she never liked to re read or revisit. It kept things secret for her that she was ashamed of, things that she knew she shouldn't have done and things that hurt so much when they happened to her. She reread her last entry, it swore that she would never think or even contemplate seeing him again. Tonight would be the first time she would since writing that.

After about an hour and half she was ready. Ginny would be coming by to collect her, at least she assumed she would. They hadn't spoken since the day they went shopping. It had been Harry who dropped the dress by for her, therefore she assumed that if it weren't Ginny taking her it would be Harry. At half past 7 there was someone at the door. She went to answer and was surprised to infact see Ginny standing there. She was wearing a green dress to the knee, with a petticoat underneath that would rival those of the 50's.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I tried getting hold of him to uninvite him, but he's been away. I left numerous messages with his secretary but who knows if he's had them? I tried, I'm so sorry, I should have asked you first but I thought you'd be over him by now…"

"Ginny stop. Let's just go, yeah?" She stepped out of her front door and apparated alongside Ginny as she didn't even know the location of her own party. They arrived within seconds and made their way to the door in silence. Hermione's nerves were getting the better of her and she felt it best to hit the bar. After her 4th butterbeer, she was beginning to feel its effects, yet even in her new relaxed state she found it hard to enjoy. She had gone through enough obligatory faux 'hello's' and 'how are you's' for a lifetime, and was just ready to sneak away, avoiding all of the men Ginny was throwing her way when…

"Buy the birthday girl a drink?" she recognised that cool voice straight away. She took a few seconds before turning to it's source. He stood before her in a tuxedo that accentuated his height and physique, it was enough to make any girl weak in the knees.

"No thank you, I was just leaving" it took all of her willpower to turn away and just before she was about to walk away, he said "Don't you want your gift?" She turned again to face him and he held out a locket. It was celtic circle design with a green gem in the centre. Beautiful.

"I'm a Gryffindor, you know that." She said referring to the colour.

"Fine." And with a twirl of his wand the gem changed to a dark red colour. "May I?" She turned and lifted her hair so he could clasp the lock. His fingertips on the back of her neck made her shiver, he locked the necklace and his hands dropped to her bare shoulders, she dropped her hair and turned to him slowly, looking up into his face.

"I wasn't sure you'd want me here." It wasn't a question but Hermione felt the need to give an answer, "Ginny invited you." She kept her gaze steady and hard to read. She looked away and stood half a step back in an attempt to keep the distance between them.

"Where've you been?" she asked him, using all of her strength to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"Travelling." His vague answer did nothing to calm her thoughts.

"Course you have." She could feel herself becoming saddened by their distance, something she once thought they would never have.

"Hermione, listen…" his voice had become a whisper, only loud enough for her ears, yet when it came to his explanation she felt that hearing it would only make things worse, so she interrupted him before he could continue.

"Well listen, get yourself a drink and enjoy the night. Excuse me." And she turned away and walked off as quickly as she could without drawing others attention. She could hear her name being called by him in the background which fuelled her to walk even faster. The guests around her were becoming a blur and she realised that she was in fact running, running away from her own party. She burst through a pair of double doors which opened out onto a balcony. She stood there for a few minutes letting the cool air wash over her face, and breathing in as much oxygen and her lungs could handle. She was staring out at the view of London, watching cars rush by underneath and lights flashing everywhere. She wished she could have been there, anywhere but where she was. After sometime, she wasn't quite sure how long it had been, the doors opened, and she was yet again face to face with Draco Malfoy. She looked up into his face, and there was slight changes from the last time they had been entirely alone. He had a more mature expression, he'd lost his boyish looks and was now solely handsome. Her face was drenched in her own tears and his with guilt. He reached out and caught her in a hug. She clung to him and couldn't contain her tears any longer, and let them fall from her freely. After a few minutes, he wiped the tears from her eyes, and pulled her face to his and kissed her. It started as a sweeping peck but then it deepened, as if his feelings for her were being shown through his actions. Just as he was about to slide his tongue into her mouth, she pulled away and shouted as loudly as she could, "YOU LEFT!"

"I know" his voice was barely audible, he had to look away as he couldn't bare to see her like this.

"You Know? You know? That's your only response? I poured my heart out to you and you left. I told you I Loved you, and you left. I haven't heard from you for 3 years and all you have to say to me is 'I know'"

"I didn't have a choice Hermione."

"You always had the choice Malfoy," she said his name with as much venom as she could muster, "You just always chose the easiest one." She ripped the necklace from around her neck and shoved it into his hand. "Here, you can go now." And with that Hermione wiped her eyes and left Draco Malfoy standing on the balcony looking out into the streets of London.


	2. Chapter 2

He sighed and leant onto the railings of the balcony. The cold wind on his face was beginning to make him feel chilly, but he couldn't tear himself away from staring down at the city lights. He then felt another presence on the balcony and knew instantly who it was.

"I told you."

"Yeah, that did look pretty brutal. I'm sure she'll calm down by the morning."

"No." he stood up straight turned to face Ginny and said "She wont." He then walked past Ginny walking through the balcony door and left the party.

Fifteen minutes later Hermione was back at her flat. She hadn't wanted him to affect her like that, and she definitely did not want him to see her cry. She changed out of her dress and walked over and sat by her fireplace. The heat was washing over her making her drowsy, but whenever her eyes shut and head went heavy she saw his face. His expressionless face. He just looked, right at her. No apologies, nothing. Eventually she gave in and allowed sleep to swallow her.

She was back in Hogwarts, the war was over and they had all stayed to help with the aftermath. In two weeks Ron would ask Hermione to be his girlfriend and despite her reservations and gut instincts she would accept. Not out of being in love with him, but out of fear of being alone. The night after the battle, Hermione was sitting outside, staring out onto the lake enjoying the peace when she felt someone approaching. As her nerved were still on edge and she still had that paranoid feeling she spun around quickly drawing her wand.

"Woah Granger, easy. I come in peace." Despite claiming changing sides and seeing the error of his ways, Hermione still found it hard to completely not think of him as the ferret he had always been.

"What is it Malfoy?"

"Nothing, it just looked peaceful out here. And you looked like you could have done with some company." She eyed him closely but there was no smirk, no malice. She turned and sat back down, he followed suit and sat next to her, not too close, but still close. The first few minutes past in silence both enjoying the serenity of the scene and each others company.

"Don't think that I haven't noticed how you still treat me Granger."

"How do I treat you Malfoy?"

"The same, everyone else has given me the benefit of the doubt. They at least want to believe that I've changed. You on the other hand…"

"Malfoy, I'm letting you sit with me aren't I? This time three weeks ago the thought of it would have made my skin crawl. Baby steps, yeah?" She turned and looked into his eyes, maybe he had changed, they weren't the usual grey empty holes they had once been. There was definite warmth in them.

"Baby steps? We'll get there Hermione" and he stood up and walked off, leaving her there staring after him. This she remembered was the first time he'd called her Hermione.

The sunlight was pouring through her living room window waking her up from her dream. She was reeling from her own flashback, and silently cursing how he seemed to be everywhere in her life now both physically and even in her dreams, something which was beyond her control. She slowly got up from the chair where she'd fallen asleep, and desperately tried to forget last nights dream. She shook of the stiffness in her back and decided to go for a hot shower. On her way past the kitchen window she noticed an owl waiting for her, she retrieved the letter from its leg, gave it a treat and watched it fly off. She opened the letter and it read;

I'm sorry, I thought you'd be ready.

I guess not.

D xx

Her original thought was not to reply and ignore his entire existence and just forget that last night had ever happened. But her impulses over took her actions. She grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote;

You had no right to even assume such things.

H. Granger.

After he left the party Draco felt that now he had seen Hermione, he was not going to make it easy for her to run away. Not after how he had treated her. He decided that the least he could do was ensure that she knew how sorry he was and that he still loved her. If she then decided to carry on without him, then that was just the consequences of his past he would have to accept. He would start with an owl, and go from there…


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione's week passed somewhat dismally. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and for this she was disappointed. She visited Harry and Ginny, helping out with any wedding plans they needed organisation on, she'd even made it over to Ron and Luna's new flat and despite her own reservations about maybe feeling jealous over their relationship, she left feeling genuinely happy for the couple. She tried to busy herself with work and pushed every thought about Draco Malfoy out of her head. The knowing looks from Ginny every time she saw her didn't help though. One day they'd made some 'girl time' and had gone out to have massages.

They were both lying on the tables, faces down into the holes, facing the floor. Music which was supposed to bring tranquillity to the listeners was tinkling in the background and the smell of patchouli and lavender was flooding the girls' nostrils. Since the party, whenever they had been alone together there was a sense of awkwardness, eggshells were being treaded on and the subject of Draco Malfoy was strictly off limits. Until today.

"You heard from Malfoy lately Gin?" the anger in her voice could not go ignored.

"Don't be like that. I was trying to help you. I know you miss him."

"It's not as simple as that. Just because you miss someone doesn't always mean that you can click your fingers and everything will go back to how it was before, you don't think Ginny. You never once thought that it would perhaps be beyond what you could possibly know or understand!" She sighed and waited for Ginny to respond. Eventually she said, "You're right. I'll just leave you to it. I'll leave you push away the only person who's loved you more than anyone else, the same person who you are so bent on keeping away that you're alone and becoming very miserable. Hermione, you're ruining it for yourself. So suck it up, get over your pride and forgive him for whatever shit he put you through 3 YEARS AGO or don't let your god damn bitterness push everyone else away, because right now we are all you have, whether you like it or not." She stood up from the table wrapping the dressing gown tightly across her leaving Hermione to stew in her own thoughts.

45 minutes later. Draco Malfoy's office.

Ginny's anger had not yet subsided. She was allowing Hermione's words to overpower her actions and before she could stop herself she was outside the building she knew Malfoy was now working. She was shown to his office by his very young and attractive secretary and was told to wait while he was in his meeting. Sitting in the over priced and under-comfy chairs she looked around the office, and there was a photograph sitting on his desk. It was taken a week before he left them all. They were sitting near the lake at Hogwarts, it was a warm day and the sunshine was reflected in their faces. Draco and Hermione were discreetly holding hands as no one knew they were in a relationship, and it was actually due to this picture that Ginny had found out. The other boys were too dim to notice. Ginny and Harry were openly displaying their affection for each other whereas Ron was desperately sitting as close to Hermione as possible, unknowingly wasting his time.

"Ahh, Weasley. What can I do for you?" Draco walked in pretending to be a big shot businessman before giving her a cheeky wink and a peck on the cheek. He sat behind his desk unbuttoned his jacket and loosened his tie.

"You know why I'm here. Have you given up on her?"

"She doesn't want to hear from me Gin, she still hates me. I don't blame her to be honest."

"Look I don't know what went on between you two, it's obviously more than what either of you is letting on. But this 'not talking to each other but not thinking about anyone else' is a right pain for me." He chuckled and asked "And how may I ask is it even affecting you?"

"Because she only talks about you, and she's still pissed off with me for inviting you to her party. And I can only assume that she will only forgive me when you guys are back to however you used to be…" she said picking up the picture and forcing him to see it.

"It won't ever get back to that" He looked down at his knees hoping Ginny wouldn't ask why. She didn't. She sighed and left and said as she walked away, "It's probably for the best anyway, I mean she is a Gryffindor and you're a Slytherin." Before she walked out he looked up at her she turned back and she winked at him and left. He sat thinking for a while and decided to take action, he at least had to explain himself, then it would be up to her.

Hermione had spent the day wandering London. She couldn't face going home alone after the conversation with Ginny. She decided she was in dire need of getting drunk. Painstakingly, paralytic, can't see her own nose, drunk. She made her way to a muggle bar and drank and drank and drank. There she found a lowlife college student who was just enough brains and looks to make her momentarily forget her day with Ginny. He was the right amount of muscle and stupidity to make her want to spend the night with him and then never see again. They shared some kisses in a darkened corner of the pub, and as closing time loomed she invited him back to her house. They arrived there not ten minutes later.

"Sure you wanna do this?" the very considerate albeit horny guy asked Hermione.

"More than you know" she answered, they approached her front steps kissing while she was simultaneously digging around her bag for her keys, when she heard, "I guess it's a bad time then Granger?" she turned to see Draco sitting on her top step, in his works suit and tie obviously waiting for her.

"Draco?" She swiftly tried to push the guy away whilst rearranging her dishevelled clothing "Malfoy, what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk, though it seems you have other plans for your evening." He nodded towards the other young man and raised his eyebrow at Hermione.

"I thought I'd made…everything perfectly clear at my party" She stood firmly in place with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Yes, yes you did." He stood up walked over to Hermione and stood as close to her for her to just hear his barely audible whisper, "But I didn't." She was looking straight into his eyes and their eye contact lingered for a few long seconds. He broke it, stepped back and said "Enjoy your night." And he walked off.

The next morning, Hermione woke with a raging hangover and vague recollections of the night before. She woke up alone. Her morning was spent curing her headache and drowsiness. She then decided to take Ginny's advice and get over her pride and pay a visit to Draco Malfoy.

She arrived at his office at around 1 o'clock, and like Ginny was escorted to his office and told to wait, this time until he was back from lunch. It had been about 15 minutes when he walked in. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in and they stood a few feet apart, just looking at each other for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, they didn't say it was you. I would have tried to get back sooner."

"I didn't give them my name. It's fine." He closed the door behind him and went and sat behind his desk. He again, unbuttoned his jacket and loosened his tie, his manner this time was more formal and awkward than it had been with Ginny.

"I didn't sleep with him…" she said at the same time he asked "What is it you wanted?" he gave a slight smile and discreetly exhaled feeling a sense of relief come over him. "You don't have to explain or justify yourself to me, Hermione."

"I know." Silence fell over them again.

"I didn't like what I saw last night." He started, "That's not you Hermione."

"You don't know me."

"I do."

"No, not anymore."

"That girl I saw last night wasn't the same one I knew in Hogwarts."

"No, you abandoned her." Silence fell once again. Draco nodded silently.

"Yeah…Well you were at my house last night, what was it you wanted?" she kept her tone detached and attempted to look and feel cold toward him.

"I wanted to…I…" now that it came to actually speaking, he didn't know what to say. He could feel her expectancy and her gaze on his face. He just didn't know what to say.


End file.
